Auger grabbing

[Adam88]

hey guys and girls i bought a new blade for my model 30 jiffy ice auger last year and it cuts great. But when it would get to the last inch or so it would grab and if u werent ready for it would spin out of ur hands. Has anyone else had this happen to them do u think its the new blade or would the bottom of the auger maybe be bent?

[ice dawg]

My Jiffy 30 with the ripper blades used to do that unless I lifted the auger and set back down kind of easy just before it went through the ice. I think it was because the ice at the bottom of the hole is a bit softer and grabs the blade. My Stealth doesn't do it so I think the stealth blade design makes a difference.

[Skipper]

Check the bottom plate where the blade bolts on. Use some sort of straight edge to verify it's flat. Mine needs to be straightened with a pry bar from time to time. It can get bent down and cause the blade to cut too aggressively, or up and cause it to barely make contact.

Another thing, make sure you are not pushing too hard. Let the weight of that tank do the work.

Also, make sure the blade is bolted to the right side of the plate. It's an easy mistake to make.

Edit: Try sharpening your center point too!

[ShawnR]

My Jiffy 30 with the ripper blades used to do that unless I lifted the auger and set back down kind of easy just before it went through the ice. I think it was because the ice at the bottom of the hole is a bit softer and grabs the blade. My Stealth doesn't do it so I think the stealth blade design makes a difference.

x2 on this.  Pull up a bit near the end and let the auger rip through on its own.

[jvanness]

i've encountered this with my Jiffy model 30, along with even my hand auger.  I find that if you just lift up a little bit on the unit, it will stop grabbing. Also i find it makes it easier to cut when i get to the breaking through point if i raise the auger, and let it regain full RPM's then gently continue to cut that it has no problem

[poorfisherman]

x2 on this.  Pull up a bit near the end and let the auger rip through on its own.

x3

[CanAmCory]

x3

X4 lol

[DBK81]

Hold on tighter and man up 

It's a ripper blade thing, my old model 75 does the same thing, I just power through it or like others have said just give it a quick lift.

[golf560]

X5

[fishermantim]

Here's my take on this: If you are applying ANY pressure while cutting, you are leaning forward, which applies diagonal force to the auger.
Kind of like using a power screw driver and trying to force the screw to grab. More than often the screw will not go in straight.

when you reach the bottom/breaking-through point of the hole, the auger may be tilted slightly, and even a little tilt can throw off the rotation enough that one side will pop through while the other is still grabbing ice.

My problem is with my hand auger. It needs new blades, and the past few years I would have to "lean into it" to get it to cut the way it used to.
At the bottom of the hole it would break through suddenly, causing me to wrench my wrist as it would turn freely in the blink of an eye.

Anyway, my problem is my problem and it's nothing a new set of blades couldn't fix. (or maybe Santa can bring me a new auger?)

[fatleroy]

Did you sharpen the pilot point tip at bottom of flighting, is paint cracking off flighting - indicates bent flighting

[zawni83]

i used to run a jiffy and it did it all the time. i was used to it and like u guys said, let it chew through the last few inches without pushing down to hard! when i replaced this auger a few years back with an eskimo Z51 i noticed the new auger never did it nearly as bad or not at all. i was told by other people and from what i saw myself that the dual blades were the reason it cut easier through those last tough few inches. i guess the single blade catches harder on those last inches as it breaks through the bottom. we then tried new jiffys vs. strikemaster and eskimo and they still did it while dual blade models cut much easier through that last inch or two.

[N.Y. Fisherman]

Check the bottom plate where the blade bolts on. Use some sort of straight edge to verify it's flat. Mine needs to be straightened with a pry bar from time to time. It can get bent down and cause the blade to cut too aggressively, or up and cause it to barely make contact.

Another thing, make sure you are not pushing too hard. Let the weight of that tank do the work.

Also, make sure the blade is bolted to the right side of the plate. It's an easy mistake to make.

Edit: Try sharpening your center point too!

YES!

I realize that his thread is old, but I have a Jiffy for 30 years.  Always starts on the first pull, and I've removed the cutting teeth every couple of seasons for a touch up on the grinder.

I did so the other day, and now my auger catches on the bottom of the hole.  I was concerned about blowing out the clutch, so I put a new set of teeth on...thinking I had one or more teeth that weren't the correct size any more.

Same problem.  I decided to Google the problem, and was led to this board.


I always put my weight on the auger, and it plows right through the ice...no catching on the bottom of the hole.  30 years now.  I've seen the problem with Laser hand augers, but never on mine.

After finding this post, I realized that in my haste to get back on the ice...I bolted the teeth to the BOTTOM of the plate, instead of the top.

I should've known there was a problem, as the plastic cover (yes...I still have it after 30 years) didn't quite fit right.


I went through the hassle of registering here, waiting to be accepted, and now posting....just to thank you.


Thank You!

If this thread is officially dead...I'll start a new one in a day or so.

[adipose]

if your having to apply pressure on any auger ...your blades may not be sharp. You should never have to apply any pressure to any auger while drilling...the auger should pull itself down. Just my two cents

[ochocenko]

Like everyone else has said, your blades are at the wrong angle if its catching at the bottom of the ice. I've dealt with a farmer fixed flighting for years that had this problem until the 20yr old flighting gave up this year and broke the blade clean off. Got new flighting this year and i just about s*it when i found out how nice it cut. I'd honestly suggest, if you do determine that your bottom plate is bent even slightly, to go and buy a new one. It's not worth the sore wrists because eventually it will weaken and break off and you'll be stuck on the ice without one! (LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES )

[ggpr]

I agree with the opinion you shouldn't have to push down on your auger, I think it even said that in the manual for my eskimo auger.  It should cut down under its own weight. 

I will add though in regards to the auger getting caught... I have had this issue with really thick ice.  I think part of the problem was all the snow sitting on the auger flighting.  What i do is drill up the snow to remove it from the hole a few times and it prevents the auger catching at the bottom.

[N.Y. Fisherman]

I realize that I've bumped a very old thread.  To reiterate...I've never had a problem in 30 years.  It was just that I mounted the cutter on the bottom of the plate, instead of the top.  I don't 'have' to put pressure on my auger.  I CAN, because it isn't an ultra light.  It's a clunker that weighs almost 40 pounds, and when I'm going through almost 2 feet of ice, it cuts quicker if I apply pressure.

The only reason I brought it up, is because there was speculation here that others' problems might be due to applying pressure.  That isn't the case with me.  I just did something stupid, when I put the cutter back on after sharpening.

Just wanted to give a shout out to Skipper, as he had the answer to my problem.

[N.Y. Fisherman]

Given that Adam never came back after starting the thread...I'm guessing he may have done the same thing?

[Layne]

Hold on tighter and man up 

 

My tanaka bites like a mofo if I dont pull up at the bottom of the hole, cowboy up!